A Zoom caller named Sam on journalist Mark Halperin’s Friday evening show said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed “utter disrespect” during his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump and other officials, despite American taxpayers giving billions to aid the country in its war.
While gathered to discuss finalizing the U.S. mineral deal with Ukraine on Friday, Trump and Vice President JD Vance called out Zelenskyy after he publicly criticized the U.S. for not attempting to halt Russia. During the heated exchange, Zelenskyy could be seen attempting to argue with the U.S. leaders as Trump warned that the Ukrainian president was “gambling” with the possibility of World War III.
On Halperin’s “2WAY TONIGHT” YouTube stream, Sam appeared at the end of the show, saying that Zelenskyy’s behavior toward Trump and Vance while in the White House was infuriating to him.
“I just happened to be working today, and I don’t usually have the audio on the news while I’m working, but I happen to be on during the press conference. Just to me, the utter disrespect of the highest seat, the highest office in our country, it infuriated me,” Sam said.
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Multiple sources on Tuesday said that the U.S. and Ukraine had reportedly struck a deal to jointly develop mineral extraction projects within the nation. Trump said he wants to fulfill his campaign vow and bring peace to foreign wars. The president has been in talks with both Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, over the course of Trump’s push to bring peace, Zelenskyy has been vocal about Russia’s involvement in a ceasefire, saying there could be no peace deal without Ukraine’s involvement.
Since February 2022, former President Joe Biden has involved the U.S. in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, providing equipment and training to Ukraine, costing American taxpayers over $130 billion to aid the foreign country. Notably, during a Feb. 1 interview with the Associated Press, Zelenskyy said he had only received about $75 billion of the $177 billion the United States had approved on Ukraine.
“I’m an immigrant. I’ve been here for 19 years, half my life in the country I was born and half my life here in the United States. I love this country,” Sam added. “I would do anything for this country and to see the president, the office of the president be disrespected by someone who’s coming to us, hat in hand, asking for help while our tax dollars — no disrespect to you, Cliff, but yeah, two and a half, 3%.”
“We’re all filing our income taxes right now from 2024, and every single penny counts. There can be a justification for dollars spent abroad for different reasons,” Sam said. “There’s different strategic reasons and so forth, but to see a man come to our country, to the Oval Office and show such disrespect was just appalling.”
While Zelenskyy has appeared to flip-flop on his discussions of ending the war, Trump’s shutdown of the Ukrainian president on Friday was not the first time. Following Zelenskyy’s statements that there could be no deal without Ukraine’s involvement, Trump took to Truth Social on Feb. 19, calling out Zelenskyy as “A Dictator without Elections” and saying he “better move fast [on a deal] or he is not going to have a Country left.”
Despite being reportedly kicked out of the White House after the heated discussion, Zelenskyy appeared on Fox News, telling host Bret Baier that he’s still open to signing the mineral deal with the U.S.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/YouTube/”2WAY TONIGHT”)
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